The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 29, 2013
Filed:
Dec. 12, 2008
David Wemmer, Berkeley, CA (US);
Alexander Pines, Berkeley, CA (US);
Louis Bouchard, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Shoujun Xu, Houston, TX (US);
Elad Harel, Chicago, IL (US);
Dmitry Budker, El Cerrito, CA (US);
Thomas Lowery, Berkeley, CA (US);
Micah Ledbetter, Oakland, CA (US);
David Wemmer, Berkeley, CA (US);
Alexander Pines, Berkeley, CA (US);
Louis Bouchard, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Shoujun Xu, Houston, TX (US);
Elad Harel, Chicago, IL (US);
Dmitry Budker, El Cerrito, CA (US);
Thomas Lowery, Berkeley, CA (US);
Micah Ledbetter, Oakland, CA (US);
The Regents of the University of California, Oakland, CA (US);
Abstract
A novel approach to magnetic resonance imaging is disclosed. Blood flowing through a living system is prepolarized, and then encoded. The polarization can be achieved using permanent or superconducting magnets. The polarization may be carried out upstream of the region to be encoded or at the place of encoding. In the case of an MRI of a brain, polarization of flowing blood can be effected by placing a magnet over a section of the body such as the heart upstream of the head. Alternatively, polarization and encoding can be effected at the same location. Detection occurs at a remote location, using a separate detection device such as an optical atomic magnetometer, or an inductive Faraday coil. The detector may be placed on the surface of the skin next to a blood vessel such as a jugular vein carrying blood away from the encoded region.